Hmong traditional dress
Photo courtesy of UMD SEAA Association

So what are some of the issues that health care providers see while caring for patients? Are those issues different in the urban or suburban area when compared to issues that rural areas face? What are the issues inherent to Minnesota?

Rural health care systems face many of the problems of urban areas: uneven access to care, inadequate insurance coverage for certain populations, and lack of capital. Additionally, rural areas vary in character and history just as urban and suburban areas vary from place to place. What all rural areas share, to a greater or lesser degree are:

• Low population density
• Virtually no large or even middle-size employers
• Isolation
• A sizable percentage of Medicare- and Medicaid-eligible patients
• And in many cases, difficult access to medical services
  (Fray, 44).

In most urban and suburban areas, one finds greater access to ancillary services, such as translators and interpreters as well as social services and other treatment options. Due to size and availability, most rural areas are left to share many of these resources thus making access more difficult for each individual community and the residents within that community who are in need of these resources. Therefore, unless rural communities suddenly find an excess amount of money to be spent on resources for health care, rural communities must find other ways to care for patients of varying cultures.